Internal-combustion engine



Feb. 22 1927.

H. W. WELLMAN, JR

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Filed Aug. 28. 1925 3 Sheets-Sheetl 1,618,360 H. w. WELLMAN. .JR

INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINE Feb. 22, 1927.

Patented Feb. 22, 1927.

* UNITED STATES 1? ATIENT Lorri-GE.

INTERNAL-COBIBUSTION ENGINE.

Application filed August 28, 1925'. Serial No. 53,181.

This invention relates to improvements in the construction of internal combustion engines of the rotary piston type. i

The objectionable features of the ordinary internalcombustion engine of the recipro eating piston type have long been recognized and many efforts have been made to construct a successful engine in which the pistons move continuously incircular paths instead of reciprocating, as such engines would, obviously overcome theobjectionable strains dueto the stopping and reversing of the reciprocating parts.

It'is the object of this invention to produce-an engine in which the difficulties ordinarily experienced with the valve mechanism have been'eliminated so as to produce as nearly as possiblea-poiseless operation. In addition to this and in order to obtain the desired'noiseless operation I employ in my construction-two circular piston devices that'are mounted for rotation in intersecting planes and whichare so related to each other that one of them developthe power while the other takes in and compresses the chargeof explosive mixture.

In order to explain my invention so that its construction andmode of operation can be readilyunderstood, I shall have reference to the accompanying drawings in which one embodiment of my invention has been shown and in which: 7

Fig. 1' is a side elevation of my engine looking in the direction of arrow 1 in'Fig. 3;

Fig. 2 is a section taken on line .22 Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 Fig.1;

Fig. 4 is a section taken online 4-4 Fig.6;

Fig. -5 is a section taken on line 55 Fig.7

Fig. 6 -is a section taken on line 66 Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a section taken on line 77 r m Fig. Bisa-yiew'similar to 't-hat shown in Fig. 7 and shows the position of thepistons during the compression stroke,- and v Fig. 9 is a view similar to that shown in Figs. 7 and 8 and shows the position of=the p-istonsat. the beginning of the power stroke. My engine has been shown as consisting of a. base 1,--1w h-ich is merely-intended to show onewayv ofsupporting the engine; and which should therefore be considered as illustra- :so .asv to form an assembly having two-intersecting circular channels .E-and .F. The parts A, B, .C and D have eachacircular flange that for the purpose of .distinction have been given .the designating characters 145, 14 14 and 14 These I'flanges are provided with openings for thereception .of

bolts 15 .by .means of which the sections IA,

B and-C, Dare secured to .eachother ,sog as to form two.asse1nblies,.each comprisinga half of the complete cylinder assembly. FromFig. 3 .it is apparentthat.thosepor tions that lie .beyond thes'flanges ..are :so formed that they produce.thefchannel E. This channel has aconvexarcuate bottom .16, inclined sides 17 :and parallel side .portions 18. The two assemblies, each of which consist of the parts A,.B andnC, D,.res pectiv e- 1y, .are 'assembledgby means of, rings .19 to the edges of .which the .parts A, (land 13,1) are .securedby means .o fscrews .20. The inner surfaces of the rings 19 forinthe. outer walls of the channels F- whoseside walls 21 are inclined in the samemanner. asthe side walls 17 of the channels E. jThesidesQl terminate .in parallel surfaces .22. TVhen the four sections A, .13, (land have .been assembled in the manner shown .and' described, .a complete cylinder assembly is formed inwhich-thereare two. circular channels E and F that intersect each other. ,In the drawing-these. channels have been shown as being located in. planes that intersecteach other at right anglesbut this is.i;iot.,.essential and it/may 5 even become desirable .to have these channels cross each other .atsome other angle. The channels and-F. corre spondto the cylinders .ofan internalcombustion engine of the v usual type ,..and, have operatively associated with them pistons which willbepresently described. Aring 23 (Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 6) *arrics two arcuate pistons and (Fig. (5). These pistons have a transverse section that is exactly the same size and shape as the cross section of the channel E (Fig. The ring 23 has parallel sides that extend inwardly to the line where the inclined sides 17 commence (Figs. 3 and G) and is provided with circular grooves, on each side, for the reception of rings 26 that engage the sides 18 so as to form a seal. \Vhen the ring is in place the channel E becomes a closed circular space that intersects the channel F. Ring 23 has three 01' more semi-circular spokes 2? that connects it with the hub to which the shaft 8 is secured. This shaft is rotatably mounted in the bearing 7. Vhen the engine is mounted on the base, in the manner shown in Fig. 1, the ring 33 is freely rotatable about the axis of the shalt 8 whereby the pistons 24land are caused to circulate in the channel E. The pistons 53% and 25 subtend an arc of over 60 and less than 90 degrees (Fig. (5) and make a. substantially gas tight lit with the walls of the channel in which they slide. Secured to the sides of parts A, B, C and D, that lie in planes parallel with a vertical plane passing through the axis of the shaft 8 are bearings brackets 29 and 30. The bracket 25) has a bearing 81 for the reception of one end of the shaft- 32 whose other end is ro-- tatably associated with the bearing in bracket 30. Splined to the shaft 32 is a wheel 3d whose riin 35 has its sides grooved for the reception of rings 36 that contact with the flat sides 22 of the channel F (Fig. 3). Extending radially from the rim 35 are pistons 37 and 38 (Figs. 2 and 8) whose length is the same as the length of the pistons 2d and 25 and whose cross section is the. some as the cross section of the channel F so as to make a gas tight sliding it there with. Secured to the end of the shaft 32 is a gear 39 that meshes with another similar gear etO on the end of shaft 41. This shaft journaled in bearings 42 and 13 (Fig. 3) and carries a bevel pinion 4 1: that meshes with the pinion 45 on the shaft d6. The other end of shaft d6 has a pinion 17 that meshes with a similar pinion on shaft 8. The gear train that transmits power be tween shafts 8 and 32 has a ratio of one so that the wheel and the ring 23 rotate at exactly the same speed. This wheel and ring are so adjusted relative to each other that pistons 24- and 25 cross the channel F in the interval between the passing of channel 1 by the rear end of piston 38 (Fig. and the time that the front end of piston 87 reaches the edge of channel E. It will now be evident that it the ring 23 and wheel 3i are rotated by means of any force. as for example. by applying a rotary force to shaft 8 that the pistons will move in the channels and will not interfere with each other. The pistons carried by the ring 23 will cross the channel F during the time that the pistons carried by the wheel 84; move the angular distance of the gap, and vice versa. In

order to make the mechanism function as a source of power or as an ii'iternal combustion engine it is essential to provide means for taking in a charge 01 gaseous fuel, compress-- ing the same, exploding and expanding this nnxtnre and then scavenging the explosion chamber.

I will now endeavor to explain how this is done. Let us first direct Olll"1l3l(511lll0l1 to Fig. From this the relative directions oi rotation oi? the pistons will be seen. The pistons 9 and 25 extend across the channel F and divide this into two substaiitially semi-clrcular sections, each of which contains one ol? the pistons Si" and 365 which move in the direction of the arrows. The Front ends of pistons 37 and Sh move towards the pistons 25 and El -l respectively while the rear ends of pistons 25'? and 38 are constantly receding from pistons 24- and 25 respectively. o now have four chambers WHV, X and X, of which \V and lV are increasing in volume while chambers X and X are decreasing in volume. Chamber's \V and ll are the intake chambers and have parts l-l8 and i9 that are connected with carburetors (not shown) by means of suitable pipes. It is evident that as the pistons 1'0- tate a mixture of air and hydrocarbon will be sucked into the intake chambers; it is equally evident that any gases in chambers X and X will be con'iprcr 'ed as the volume oi? these chambers diminish. Since the cngine has two sets of pistons which form two sets of intake, GOUlplGSSlUD and explosion chambers that are (lUPllCtltQS oi each other, it will siniplijly matters somewhat it? we consider one set more in detail than the other. o will new direct our attention more particularly to Figs. 7, 8 and l) and use Fi 2 and {3 as a guiding; means. F i! show a. chamber ill that has connnunication with the cmnprcssion clump her X and has a spark plug 151. The other end of chamber coinnun'iicates with the channel E. lVhcn the piston 25 is in the position shown in Figs. 7 and 8, it extends acr the channel F and closes the outlet from chamber 50 thereby ttorn'ling with the front end of piston 37 a chaniber whose vol ume is the combined volume of chamber X and 50. As the pistons are continuing to more in the direction of the arrows, chamber X is constantly decreasing in volume. The pistons are so related to each other that the rear end oi piston 25 will reach the edge of channel F as the front end of piston 37 reaches the position indicated bv the dotted line 51; at this point the ex plosive charge will be contained in chamber lllll 37 has traveled completelyacross the channel E the rear end of the piston will be at the point indicated by dotted line 152 in Fig. 9 and any further movement will permit the compressed gases from chamber to enter the space between the rear end of the piston 25 and the side of piston 37 which space forms the explosive chamber. {Vhen the parts reach the position shown by full lines in Fig. 9, the mixture is ignited. Dur ing the compression of the charge piston 38 has been constantly receding from the side of piston 25 and has drawn in a charge into the space W which charge will be imprisoned between the pistons 37 and 38 and moved along channel F until one of the pistons (24, 25) crosses the channel F when a portion of the charge will be imprisoned in the chamber X and will be finally compressed into the chamber 50 after which the cycle will be repeated. In Fig. 6 pistons 24: and 25 have been shown substantially in the position indicated in Fig. 8. hen piston 25 reaches the position shown in Fig. 9 the charge is exploded and drives it in the direction of the arrow. When the rear end of the piston reaches the end 52 of the exhaust port 53 the gases of combustion will be permitted to escape through pipes 54. The front end of piston 2% when that reachesthe position of piston 24'inFig. 6 will force any remaining exhaust gases out. A suitable ignition mechanism will be provided which will cause the spark plugs to function at proper intervals. I want to call attention to the means provided to balance the pressure on opposite sides of the pistons 87 and 38 during the time that the gases are delivering energy to the pistons 24 and 25. This is shown most clearly in Fig. 5 and consists merely in providing a shallow chamber on the side opposite from chamber 50 and connecting the two by a passage 56.

Although I have illustrated my invention by showing an embodiment in which each channel has operatively associated therewith two arcuate pistons, I want it understood that as many pistons may be employed as may be found desirable. As'far as I am aware at present the arrangement shown and described is the most satisfactory.

It will be noted that the walls of the channels have port openings and that these are opened and closed by the pistons "asthey 'ro tate, whereby the pistons themselves form the valves.

From the above it- 'will be evident that I have produced an internal combustion engine'of the rotaryrtype, which isconstructed in "a novel manner and whose :most distin- 'guishingcharacteristicisthat itemploys two sets of interconnectedpistons that rotate in intersecting planes 'one set preparing the charge and compressing the same and the other set converting the energy of the exploding gases into power and then exhausting the gases of combustion. In this engine there are no reciprocating parts and there- .fore there should be very little vibration.

There can be no trouble from preignition as the explosive mixture is not admitted into the heated explosion chamber until the piston is inproper position, and besides this, preignition is not a conceivable objection in a rotary engine of this type. Having now described my invention,

what I claim as new is:

1. An internal combustion engine comprising, in combination, a body member provided with two circular channels lying in a wheel having a rim, said wheel being so mounted that it will rotate in the plane of the inwardly opening channel, piston mem-- bers projecting radially from said rim, said pistons being adapted to cooperate with the inwardly opening channel and means for positively interconnecting the wheel and ring so that they will be forced to rotate at the,

same angular velocity.

2. An internal combustion engine comprising, in combination, a body member, two intersection toroidal shaped parts lying in intersecting planes, one of said parts, having a channel opening outwardly, the other part.

having a channel opening inwardly, said channels lntersecting each other at diametrically opposed points, a ring member having I inwardly projecting arcuate piston members adapted to cooperate with the outwardly opening channel, a wheel mounted concentrio with the inwardly opening channel so as to rotate in the plane of said channel, a plurality of spaced arcuate piston members extending radially from said wheel, said last named pistons being adapted to cooperate.

with the walls of said inwardly opening channel to divide the latter into separate chambers and means for interconnecting the ring and wheel so as to cause them to rotate with the same angular velocity.

3. An internal combustion engine comprising a body member formed of four separate parts adapted to be assembled so as to form two circular channels of the 531119 diameter and substantially the same transverse cross section, said channels lying in intersectingplanes and having coincident centers, one of said channels opening towards the outside and the other opening towards the inside, a ring encircling the channel that opens to wards the outside, inwardly projecting arouate pistons secured to said ring, said pistons extending into said outwardly opening channel, a plurality of spokes secured at one end to said ring and at the other end to a hub, a shaft secured to the huh, said shait being rotatahiy supported in a hearing, a wheel mounted for rotation in the plane of the channed that opens inwardly, spaced arcuate pistons secured to the periphery of said wheel and extending into the channel that opens inwardly and means connnising a gear train for connecting the ring and wheel so that they will rotate at the same speed.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HARRISON W. ELLMAN, JR. 

